ZYRTEC Reviews (CETIRIZINE HYDROCHLORIDE)Average Rating: 2.0 (1816 Ratings)Filter ResultsCompare ZYRTEC with similar:
Type: Over-the-counter Drug
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Results are sorted by Age from youngest to oldest (reviews with no age reported listed first). Key to Ratings: 1=LOW (I would not recommend taking this medicine.) Page: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 |
More on ZYRTEC: Reviews Summary | Drug Safety Information
| RATING | REASON | SIDE EFFECTS FOR ZYRTEC | COMMENTS | SEX | AGE | DURATION/ DOSAGE | DATE ADDED |
| 1 | allergies | extreme itchiness when trying to get off of zyrtec. | please don't start taking it. you don't want to risk the side effect once you try to get off of it. | F | 30 | 6 months | 10/17/2008 | 1 | Seasonal Allegies | Almost caused a major accident while driving!!! Difficulty focusing, irritable, lethargic, unable to feel joy in my activities. Very confused and very, very hungry. | Watch out. I'm going back to Loratadine (generic Claritin). Works much better esp. in conjuction with a prescription nasal spray. What a yucky day. | F | 30 | 1 days | 10/16/2008 | 1 | allergies, hives | Within a couple of days of taking zyrtec, I experienced feeling dizzy, nauseated and like I could fall asleep anywhere, anytime. Within the first week, I started having awful nightmares, very graphically horrific and I would wake up very disoriented. It would take me a good half hour to be able to open my eyes and just get out of bed, then I'd spend the whole day feeling groggy. I thought that it could be the medication, so I stopped taking it for a week. Within 3 days off of it, I started returning to completely normal. I thought that a great way to see if it truly was the zyrtec or not would be to try it one more time. All it took was one dose and my stomach is killing me and I could not wake up this morning for anything. It is 1:30pm and I am just starting to feel awake, however I'm still disoriented. | When I called my doctor's office to explain what I've been experiencing, they fluffed me off telling me that the side effects I complain about are not side effects of this medicine. How frustrating! | F | 30 | 2 weeks | 6/5/2007 | 1 | For allergies, hives | Was taking for seasonal allergies and hives of unknown causes on my hands/wrists. After taking Zyrtec my entire body broke out in a bad case of hives. The same thing happens for me with Allegra. Now I am scared to try anything else! | I used to take it and it was fabulous. Maybe something in my system changed to make me react so strongly to it? | F | 30 | 1 days | 6/6/2005 | 1 | For allergy related dizziness | EXTREME ITCHING FOR WEEKS AFTER QUITTING ZYRTEC. I feel so sorry for everyone that will start taking this medicine now that it is OTC. When you try to stop taking zyrtec you will have the worst itching all over your body and it will last for weeks, maybe months. I have tried to stop zyrtec several times in the past 7 years and have been unsuccessful. I am trying again and the painful itching feels like fire ants are attacking every part of your body. There are quite a few sites popping up now with information in regards to this effect. PLEASE CHECK IT OUT!! Spread the word. There should be a major lawsuit against Pfizer for allowing this drug in the marketplace with no warning of this side-effect. | DON'T TAKE ZYRTEC - YOU WILL REGRET IT!! | F | 30 | 7 years | 2/14/2008 | 1 | seasonal allergies | fatigue, anxiety, mood changes | I bought Zyrtec because I've been having a hard time finding 12-hour Claritin-D. I felt tired and anxious the whole time I was on it. The week before had been unusually stressful, so I assumed I was still getting over it. I saw a commercial that said that Zyrtec might make you tired, so I went out and found some more Claritin. Not only did the tiredness go away immediately, but the bad thoughts I'd been having all week immediately disappeared. | F | 30 | 7 days | 11/9/2008 | 1 | Sons allergies | I have a 4 yr old and a 2 yr old. They both are having bad side effects. I thought I was going mad until I started researching the drug a bit more. My oldest itches all over, mostly on the back and stomach. He is normally a very good boy, listens well, and follows directions. Lately he's been having temper tantrum melt downs over the littlest things. Which is not normal for him at all. My youngest has been the worst. He will not sleep at night. Crying spells can last 2-3 hrs with 30 min breaks of sleep in between all night long. He sleeps very sound in the afternoon for naps. He is much more irritable, and has more temper tantrums than normal. I'm taking my children off this drug for good. I wish the Physician would have explained the possible side effects before perscribing. | F | 30 | 4 days | 3/19/2009 | 1 | Allergies | EXTREME ITCHING WHILE TRYING TO QUIT. I cannot get off zyrtec due to the extreme itching after not taking it for 2 days. I will have to slowly wean off and I am so nervous for this journey. | I imagine if I were to quit Zyrtec I will feel much better than I have in years. I have read countless reviews about the brain fog, forgetfulness, anxiety, and emotional toll it takes on people. I am wondering if my anxiety and bursts of emotion are coming from this and maybe I can even get off my anxiety medication. I am excited to kick this drug, but it is going to be so hard slowly weaning off to not experience the itching. I highly recommend NO ONE EVER TAKE THIS. | F | 30 | 15 years 10mg 1X day | 6/14/2021 | 1 | Seasonal Allergies | Depression, rage, anxiety, crying, mood swings, loss of appetite, exhaustion, no motivation, dizziness, brain fog | This drug is dangerous. I am one to rarely use medication for things but seasonal allergies sneak up on me so I sometimes would turn to an OTC to help. I will absolutely never use this drug again. I had suspicions a while ago when I took it but never really correlated my side effects to the medication because I took it for a short time. This time, I know for certain that this is the drug causing my side effects. I have been crying unreasonably, seemingly raging at absolutely nothing, hated my partner and everything he did, could not get off the couch, called out of work, did not want to be around my family, had no joy in doing the things I normally liked, etc. It was only when I got on this medication and started taking it for roughly a week. I'm never taking this again in my life. I would rather suffer with all of my allergy symptoms and be happy than to feel that miserable again. I have been off for a little over 24 hours and already feel a bit better. I also noticed my nephew having fits and mood disturbances when he was on this as well. He is 10. This stuff needs to be heavily regulated and better warning labels on the outside for side effects. I'm glad it doesn't effect everyone this way and some people can find relief from things with it, but for the people that experience these side effects…it needs more warning. Not to mention doctors/providers that say to take it and do not even know or are un | F | 30 | 1 weeks 10 mg 1X day | 4/12/2023 | 1 | Ear ringing and sinuses | Depression, irritability, brain fog, anxiety, feeling of going crazy, tiredness, dizziness, felt like my eyes weren’t adjusting right, headache. | I took Zyrtec for about 13 days 10 days consistently (regular tablets) then took like a two day break then 3 more days(liquid gels). Once I started the liquid gels I right away noticed I was getting irritable, depressed, and dizzy after the next day i started feeling really tired all day and my eyes felt weird ( I wear glasses so I thought that was the problem) and I started feeling a headache and anxiety and the feeling of going crazy or something. The third day I felt even worse with brain fog. It’s been about 24 hrs since I last took it and my vision is somewhat back to normal as of now but still feeling the anxiety, depression and slight headache. I wish I would have read all this before I started taking Zyrtec. This feeling is horrible and scary! I hope it doesn’t last to much longer! | M | 30 | 13 days 10mg | 3/3/2020 | 5 | Allergies | None | Although I wake up with a very dry mouth, this drug has helped tremendously!! | M | 31 | 5 days | 6/2/2007 | 5 | hives | need to take at bedtime because it causes severe drowiness | F | 31 | 6 months | 9/26/2002 | 5 | to meet people | I fell in love with the first thing I saw. I'm sure glad I took it on the first day of college and not back when I lived with grammy and gramps. | It is a love potion! beware of it's effects on arousal. Also, stops my itching and cat allergies. | F | 31 | 1X day | 8/24/2010 | 4 | seasonal allergies | I have been taking zyrtec d for a month. Ive developed a cough, gained 5 pounds, noticed swelling of feet and hands. The meds. Make me feel great during the day, but I cant handle the side effects. So glad I found this forum. | F | 31 | 1 months | 3/29/2012 | 4 | Pet and seasonal allergies | Tiredness | ** This drug will be going over the counter by the end of 2007 ** It has really helped for my allergies. When I'm not taking it, I'll be sneezing, breaking out into hives, or have extreme itchy eyes. The only side effect I've really had with it becoming very tired, but that is usually alleviated by taking this an hour or so before bedtime. Since this medication is going over the counter, it will be more expensive for me to buy it regularly than without my prescription. My doctor recommended a new allergy medication called Xyzal which she gave me samples but I haven't tried it long enough to form an opinion. | F | 31 | 2 years | 10/31/2007 | 4 | allergies | none | Zyrtec (cetirizine) works quite well for me, but it does not alleviate all the symptoms during allergy peaks. It works best for my eyes, somewhat for my nose and not at all for my throat and lungs. When I have a cold and a dripping nose, I combine it with phenylephrine (ingredient of Sudafed). I have taken Zyrtec a long time without (noticeable) side effects. Now I use generic medicins and capsules prepared at the local pharmacy that contain the active ingredients. Again, no side effects. After reading some other medicine ratings, it becomes clear to me that almost no one, from what must be millions of people, that have good results with 'rated' medicines, post on this site, which gives an overwhelming negative bias. Although no one can guarantee that *every* medicine works as described and is free of side effects or danger for *everyone*, it is too easy to make them a scapegoat for all your personal problems. If you feel insane after taking Zyrtec, I would put my money on the fact tha | M | 31 | 6 years | 6/22/2008 | 3 | Allergies | Fatigue, nightmares, visual side effects, urologic problems. | I was taking Zyrtec for my allergies. It worked on my allergies fabulously. I started having problems controlling when I would go to the bathroom. I found out antihistamines can cause that. I stopped taking it and found I had more side effects than I had realized. Stopping it caused really bad withdrawal side effects as well. Those are horrible itching, fatigue, bad headaches, and inability to sleep. I won't ever take this again. Way too many side effects. | F | 31 | 7 months | 1/9/2009 | 3 | seasonal, dust, dust mites, & cats | extreme drowsiness, tingling sensation on face possibly due to sensitive sinuses, cloudiness, lethargic | the crazy thing is that it works. I suffer from allergies year round. I haven't been able to breathe for what seems to be forever. I gave up. I've taken zyrtec in the past and felt that all it did was dry up my insides and make me tired. Recently I had a cat stay with me for a month and boy was that a mistake. I started experiencing chest pains so when I went to the dr., she said it was my allergies and prescribed zyrtec and veramyst, a nose spray. At first, I felt like a new person, I could breathe through my nose. But looking back at the past two weeks, I've noticed something else. I can barely wake up in the morning. Sometimes when I wake up I can't tell if I'm still dreaming or if I'm actually awake. I'm irritable. I'm cranky and short tempered. Although I can breathe and don't have a runny nose, I feel like my sinuses are clogged and holding back what should be draining. I'm tired and feel lazy. Sometimes, I have to take a nap to get re-energized. The crazy thing, is that zyrtec | F | 31 | 4 weeks | 1/5/2008 | 3 | really bad grass allergies | Weight gain. Initially, severe drowsiness within one to two hours of taking it, but that has subsided. | I've only been taking Zyrtec for one month but I have gained five pounds!!! I have recently moved from an urban setting where I walked everyday, but now I am working out almost everyday and eating better!! This is the only new medication I'm on and, after reading some of these comments, I think it's the Zyrtec. I wish they would've listed this as a side effect. I've battled weight my entire life, I certainly don't need this now! | F | 31 | 1 days | 6/15/2007 | 3 | allergies/sinusitis | A sort of disconnected feeling from life- I dont really care about anything. Drowsiness especially when doing paperwork. Very dangerous when driving because you are so out of it as to not take things seriously. Lack of motivation for living. My wife says I get extremely irritable and don't seem empathetic at all. I will take the pill in the morning and by evening I just get so fatigued- extreme fatigue. I have never felt fatigue like this before. A few times I have even felt like I could collapse. I walk about 12 miles a day at work, and I usually handle it pretty well, but not on this pill. | It does control allergies and it definitely relieved my very sore throat. My post nasal drip is still there, but it doesnt seem to irritate my tissues like usual. | M | 31 | 3 weeks | 5/4/2007 |